My lack of belief in your choice of god(s) is not the problem.

Hey guys, It’s been awhile since I wrote an opinion post, and usually I write them when I truly feel that something needs saying. Sometimes it comes off angry, which is not always my intent, but take it as you will.

Today, I’d like to talk about atheist bashing. Or just the bullying, unfair persecution and exclusion of anyone that’s not ‘religiously affiliated’ in the mainstream sense.

No doubt you’ve heard some crazy fundie (usually Westboro Baptists, or Fox News. You sound the same to me) screeching about how non-belief in something is going to kill the world, or something about Sweden and gay people. (Who know EXACTLY this feeling I suspect)

I noticed this especially in times of tragedy – like the recent massacre in Sandy Hook, or any time there’s a big disaster, really. Today I was reading something about the recent bush fires in Australia. I lived there for my teenage years – I still have many friends there, so I try to keep updated. There was a comment that just instantly made me so angry, I couldn’t even speak or think of an eloquent (read, no-curse word) response.

This sort of nasty, hateful preaching has got to stop. For the most part, I know not all Christians are like this. But the ones that are, make you all look like a bunch of foaming at the mouth morons.

Firstly, in a natural disaster, possibly the last thing that’s even relevant to why it happened, is some random person’s beliefs, or lack thereof. PM Gilliard was elected as a representative of the people of her country; this has no bearing on the weather, unless you truly believe that a magical being is just sitting up on a cloud, waiting for someone to fuck up and do something they don’t like, and smite them with fire and brimstone.

In that case, your beliefs have no basis in reality, and you should seriously, and deeply reflect on why you believe this to be so.

Secondly, fire has been around since roughly the dawn of time, you can Google that one. Fire, and most chemical reactions make no differentiation, or discrimination, based on your lack of belief in a higher power (which you believe to be the one and only true god/goddess, in a world with THOUSANDS of deity legends.)

Thirdly, we come to the Epicurean dilemma. Your god, whoever he/she is, is not perfect. It is not perfect, because it’s a human creation, and humans are quite obviously not perfection.

Take the bush fires for example. Hundreds of people have been displaced, or made homeless, or injured in these fires. Men, women, children, animals. Disaster does not discriminate. Statistically some of these people are religious.

Why would a perfect god punish the ‘innocent’ for the sins of a ‘wicked’ few? Does he not know the difference? Does he not care? Logically, I’d think that a loving, benevolent god worth worshipping would protect his faithful flock.

It seems like he doesn’t give a rat’s ass, either way. In that case, back to my main point:

My lack of belief in your religion is not the cause of natural disasters, tragedies and society’s ills, in general.

Did you know that there are several thousand deities, dreamed up over the course of human history? It’s true. Did you know, that therefore, I only believe in one less god than you do? (Or maybe several less, if you happen to be a polytheist). My point is though, most religious people are damn near as atheist as me. So stop blaming us, you butt holes.